Vehicle roof racks provide vehicle owners with additional storage options. The storage space roof racks provide allow the area inside the vehicle to be used for additional in-vehicle storage or passenger seating. Often, access to storage racks is difficult, because one must reach upwardly to gain access to the vehicle rack, which is often over six feet from the ground. Standing locations on the outside of the vehicle that would allow one to reach the roof rack are rare or difficult/dangerous to access. For example, some individuals stand on the vehicle's floor or tire to access the storage rack. Unfortunately, the vehicle owner's height, the position of the rack, or the location of the stored items in the rack are often not ideally accessed by standing on the vehicle floor or tire. Thus owners must use a step stool, a ladder, etc. to access the roof rack, which is often not readily available.
To address this issue some vehicle manufacturers have incorporated ladders onto the side or rear of the vehicle. These ladders increase the external envelope of the vehicle and are often unsightly. Existing ladders (or post-market ladders retrofitted onto vehicles) must be bolted to the vehicle, which creates weak points and fluid pathways that facilitate metal oxidation. Further, where the vehicle ladder is interconnected to the rear of the vehicle, rear door operation may be adversely affected.
It is a long felt need to provide an improved ladder that does not require penetrations into the vehicle to install, is aesthetically pleasing, and allows for the vehicle's rear door to function as designed.